Losing weight has become the modern woman’s holy grail… everything will be better when we’re thin.

We’re obsessed with weight, we dislike our bodies, we worry about the food we eat, we feel guilty, we diet… Too many of us are locked into a war with our own bodies which we’ll never win, and which will never make us happy.

The Ministry of Thin takes a controversial, unflinching look at how the modern obsession with weight loss, youth, beauty and perfection got out of control. Emma Woolf, author of An Apple a Day, explores how we might all be able to stop hating and start liking our own bodies again. And she dares to ask: if losing weight is the answer, what is the question?

Reviews

A very honest, intelligent reflection on the causes and effects of society's obsession with thin.
Dr Linda Papadopoulos
The Ministry of Thin is frank, funny, and fascinating - I wanted to shout "hear, hear" at the end of almost every sentence.
Anne H. Putnam, author of Navel Gazing: One Woman's Quest for a Size Normal
A brilliant and brutal look at the world of thin, by a writer who knows too well the damaging effects of such a persuasive club. Think you are immune to their rhetoric? Then think again.
Dr Christian Jessen
She talks much sense having been through 10 years of anorexia.
The Bookseller
this book might make you a little more conscious when dealing with patients who may be battling with body image problems, or an eating disorder.
Student BMJ (British Medical Journal)
Thoughtfully written and incisive, Emma Woolf looks at the darker side of our obsession with dieting...
Ian Marber
Woolf sets her stall out with brio... a hypnotist's finger-click signalling women to wake up.
The Observer